Sunday, October 3, 2010

That's all I can say about the team that FTF'd AME. I honestly didn't think it would be possible. But then given the right challenge you'll be surprised how people will grow in the learning process to log a find and claim a much coveted prize.

I do hope though that for the rest of you out there still stumped on AME, that the FTF prize wasn't your only motivation for logging this. I hope that you will want to log this in the hopes of solving a cache that uses some techniques never before seen prior to its publication, some tactics that I've never used, and a cache so comprehensive it takes you across the entire island.

Oh, yes I do have another one in the works. It will be fun and tough to solve. You will probably not like me very much for it.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Had a great time at the event last night. Got to meet WB and several other cachers.

Turns out that a couple of cachers (Lexie, Hex) had plans to toss me in the pool, but when they found out that I had my cell phone on me they didn't relish the thought of having to pay me back if it got damaged. Thank you AU! Anyway, DDRAMS told me of a cache that should go public here today or tomorrow that will definitely help those stuck on A.M.E. I didn't help him with it, I promise. He was simply inspired by the same work that was part of my inspiration for A.M.E.

I also got to meet Gagl and his son (little G). Why is it whenever I hear his caching name I'm reminded of this clip from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum?

Friday, September 17, 2010

Well, I finally came across my first habu. Well, actually it was a himehabu which are less aggressive.

This snake was laying straight as an arrow on a wide path in the woods. I almost stepped on it and was able (somehow) to jump over without getting bitten. I think I startled it and that was the only advantage I had.

Well, on the way back to my car, I saw an Okinawan tree lizard.

A much welcome sight after the snake encounter.

To say the least I think I'll wait until this weather has a chance to really dry out before I head out on the trail next time.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Well, there's no other way to describe a day like that. I started the day by traveling north to replace the containers for Star Wars Trivia 1 through 6 and to replace the lock on number 7. Of course the weather decided to pour rain down on me, and only me mind you as I looked not but a kilometer away and saw blue sky.

Then I traveled to the final location of A.M.E. to drop off the new unactivated coins for the FTF. After narrowly avoiding getting bitten by a mamushi snake after I startled it from its resting place in the middle of the path, I continued to traverse the path around many fallen trees from the recent typhoon, and yes it was raining there too.

After all of this adventure I was hungry, so on my way back I stopped by for a cheeseburger and then hid two new geocaches. My latest puzzle Quicksilver and a traditional called Pumpkin's Hunt. I picked up the container idea for Pumpkin's Hunt while back in the States.

So what did I learn from my day of adventure? Really watch for snakes, they blend in so well you hardly notice them until it's too late. Take my time even when I know where I'm going. And, never stop caching over a little thing like an encounter with one of the most venomous snakes to be found in Japan.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

You may be saying at this point, "but Larzanth, didn't you say that AME would be your last puzzle cache for a very long time?" Yes I did, until I got this idea. This will take time to develop as I need to figure out how to make my idea a reality.

It won't be as involved or as difficult as AME. However, it will probably still be a 4-star difficulty or higher. Sorry, I like creating the challenges, like the one Ash created that I still haven't been able to figure out yet (one layer two keys, yeah right).

Anyway, it will be a single stage once you solve the puzzle for those of you who know me, and everything you need to solve the puzzle will be readily accessible from the cache page.

Now, do I recommend skipping AME and holding out for this? Absolutely not! AME is very rewarding in the end and will introduce you to a level of puzzle creation that will make solving this next one a whole lot easier for you. I've also thrown in so many unactivated geocoins for the FTF for AME, that competition SHOULD still be fierce to find it. I'm not rewarding you with just money, but with coins that are rare to find and only available for purchase through a membership.

Now as for the prize for solving this next one? Hmm, haven't really decided on it yet. I'm sure I'll think of something though by the time it's ready to go live.

This year talk like a pirate day is being held on September 19th. It's a Sunday, my day off, and I've decided that I'll be showing up at GZ for my cache Pirates of Cryptography at 3 pm.

I won't be showing up at the swimming pool where the fake coords will take you, but at the real coords that you can find by solving the layers of crypto that can be found in the puzzle on the cache page.

Now why would I do this? To welcome anyone hardy enough to solve the puzzle to Pirates to show up and be allowed (1) to ask me one, mind you only one, question pertaining to any of my puzzle caches. Short of "Could you give me the real coordinates?", I will answer almost any question posed including questions on my latest puzzle cache, A Mysterious Enigma, which I've aptly nicknamed AME (pronounced like the name Amy). I'll also be on site to (2) help anyone who hasn't log this log it, as it is a bit tricky for those who have been to GZ and have come up empty handed.

So remember, Sunday, September 19th, 3 pm at the real GZ of Pirates of Cryptography weather permitting.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I just had the pleasure of logging some caches in Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Rocky Mountain National Parks. It was an incredible experience to go to these places and log these caches. I highly recommend trips to any of the national parks for any avid cachers out there.

While on my vacation I picked up a really nice hide idea. I'll be using it in my next cache dedicated to my cat Pumpkin who was killed just 2 days before our return to Okinawa. I buried the big guy yesterday, and think that he would have loved this cache idea that I'll be placing out there soon.

I was going to call the cache something else, but now I've decided to name it Pumpkin's Hunt.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

I couldn't believe it. I read the found log for Totally Tubular by G8RFamily the other day and they reported that all contents of the cache were gone and only a slip of paper was in the cache with the message "thanks for your present". Now this cache wasn't just out in the open where it could be easily found. It was in the knot of a tree, slightly off the beaten path. The container was camo'd with camo tape. Inside the knot it looked like a leaf. Additionally, on most mugglings cache containers and all their contents are taken with little or no trace left behind. In this case, the container was placed back carefully where it had been hidden. All contents to include trackables, swag, and the log book were taken from this cache. Then the thief was so low that they took a piece of paper out of the log book and wrote the message on it, leaving only this in the cache container.

I have to say that whoever did this had a knowledge of geocaching, and perhaps planned this muggling out. Well, if the thief is reading this and was wanting to take a stab at me, you missed. This was a dawgdoc cache that I adopted. Some time, money and effort went into this cache by the Doc.

Well as a deterrent to protect the other 100 or so caches that I own, I've made all of them premium member only caches. If you're not a premium member, sorry, you won't be able to find and log 20% of the caches on Okinawa anymore. If I see this happen again in this manner (I'm taking into consideration the occasional random muggling), then I will seriously consider archiving the really good containers in order to protect the caches, their contents and the integrity of this game. That is if there's any of it left.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Well, the event turned out to be a success. We had a great turn out and were able to greet many new cachers to the island. A few were coming to the event with no geocache finds, so this was a great way to introduce them to the game.

Dawgdoc and family were able to make it and join in the festivities. A big thanks to Doc for all that he did in helping with the event by supplying the pirate-themed geocoins and the mini treasure chests that were used in the caching portion of the event.

Even though the sun was beating down on us, we had plenty of water, shade, and a nice breeze to keep the air moving. With the Jolly Roger hoisted, this event was one to be remembered.

I also gave a hint at the event after being threatened with walking the plank if I didn't for my latest puzzle cache A Mysterious Enigma. However, no restrictions were placed on how I could give the hint, so since I had originally said I wouldn't be giving any hints for the cache I decided to make it interesting. I took the hint and hid it in a stereogram (magic 3D) puzzle. I printed this out and then cut it into a 40-piece jigsaw puzzle. I took the puzzle, wrapped it in a message with the Mysterious Enigma symbol (seen on the cache page), put it in a magnetic container, and stuck it inside a guardrail next to the parking area for the event. At the end of the event, I announced that I would be giving a hint. It was amazing how quickly conversations ended and I had a horde of cachers eagerly waiting to hear what I had to say. I then announced the coordinates and suddenly we were short several cachers.

Several minutes passed before a few of them straggled back giving me sidelong glances as if to say, "Figures you'd do something like that...." In the end they got the puzzle together but a hitch was encountered that I hadn't anticipated. The reassembled puzzle showed the solution as a double image. Very confusing, so after I confirmed that they had put it together correctly I went ahead and told them what it said.

With that a few of them clued in and today one solved the first layer and made it to the first stage. Good job! You've now started your tumble down the rabbit hole.

Once A Mysterious Enigma has been found, I'll post this hint on the cache page.

Friday, June 25, 2010

It's amazing nowadays what you can extrapolate from GPX files using downloadable statistics generators. These include MacDefender, GSBuilder, and CacheStats. Of course these take the effort to maintain, but not much is involved in getting the data updated.

After posting detailed statistics onto my caching profile for some time now, I sat back and really thought about it. Why am I bragging? Is it to show myself how awesome I think I might be (which my wife will ostensibly argue against if she even catches wind that I might be thinking this way)? Is it to show others what I've accomplished (which I doubt anyone might care to drudge down into)? So if for not these reasons, then why? I honestly couldn't answer it since the whole reason why I have enjoyed Geocaching from the get-go isn't being able to log my name in a notebook, trade SWAG, or collect coins (which however is very cool), but has always been about the path taken to the cache, the location, and the hiding technique used. All of which make Geocaching very cool.

So after thinking things through (which I'm sometimes very slow at), I decided to remove all that hub-bub off my cache page. That's not to say I won't keep tabs on my Japan and worldwide ranking, or go after an FTF opportunity when it's afforded to me, but to hound over every miniscule detail (honestly, do I really care about the shortest log I've written?) I've found to take away from the actual enjoyment of getting out on the trail, listening to my GPSr beep at me as I near a cache, and find the hidden location which finally reveals the result of the effort I've put forth.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Thoughts on this new cache I've created. Ah, so many things thrown into it, it gets muddy after awhile, or at least you will be after completing the many stages. I've yet to hear of anyone making it past the puzzle on the cache page yet. Although there could be someone out there who has and is keeping silent for the moment.

Or perhaps those who have solved my previous puzzles are looking at this and thinking about giving up if they haven't already. I know of one who has stopped watching the cache. So now there are five on the watchlist. It's too bad I can't see who those five are as the CO. That would be nice.

Perhaps I should say this, if you think the puzzle on the cache page is bad, it does get worse before you'll be able to log a find. However, I think if you can solve the first puzzle, the remaining elements of the cache will become a little simpler to solve.

While no hints will be given for this, I've begun to give out some of my sources of inspiration, and will probably continue to do so based on some time interval as the weeks pass by with no logged finds.

Yes Tim, I know where you are, and I believe you'll be able to take your time on this upon your return.

Until then, I offer the best of luck to all of you and can refer you to one of the best neurologists on the island should you require his services.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

Yes, this is my last one. I am unleashing evil that should never be unleashed, so naturally I will subsequently make enemies with anyone that even attempts to solve and find this one that I have decided I will not make anymore puzzle caches where I am currently at (not to say if I do actually move out of here in the future I will unleash my evil ways upon another unsuspecting crowd of cachers).

This cache is hard, and I don't mean hard in an eventually you'll solve it kind of way, but hard in the sense that you'll want to hit either your head or my head against something very hard whilst trying to solve this. My wife thinks what I've devised is evil. Friends of mine have said it's evil. Well, when you have to get so creative that you create your own method of key generation for encryption, yeah I guess that could be construed as evil.

But then again, with the current group of cachers on the island, perhaps this one is solvable.

I dunno. It has been a bear putting it together, so I can only imagine what it will be to solve it.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Well, good things come and go very quickly. I thought I had created a difficult puzzle cache, but then it turns out that Tim would create one even harder. I won't begin to describe the evil genious involved in Professor Hilbert #5, but it was a very difficult and fun cache to solve.

Anyway, the Avatar cache went 8 days without a find. Some say it was due to the mistake in the binary, but whatever the case, I had thought I'd beat out Tim on number of days without a find, that is until Hilbert #5 came out.

So sitting back after several cachers teamed up together to conquer Avatar and did so successfully (you know who you are), I was talking with Hexman about the difficulties of my caches. His opinion was that I hadn't really put out a true 5-star difficulty cache yet.

Now don't blame him for this next part, as I was already thinking of a way to try and topple Tim's new record.

I then thought to myself, why not just pull out all the stops and create the most difficult puzzle cache that I could think to devise (while still providing an actual solution)? So with plans in the works, I have begun down this path.

Several things are inspiring me on this quest.

There are so many things being thrown into this new cache that I am taking my time to ensure there are no mistakes. I would really hate to have someone actually find one.

With that said, there will be a couple of things unique to this cache (keep these in mind as you begin to solve it):

- I will give no hints. None of any kind. No freebies and no indications that you're heading down the right path.

- This one will be open to everyone. I don't care who's looking at it, how many times they've looked at it, or if anyone is looking at it. If it stays unsolved, so be it.

- This will be my last puzzle cache for a very long time (meaning several years). If it gets toppled by someone else's devious, then oh well.

- Every cache is located on land. Nothing will be over a 4-star difficulty in terrain.

- There will be so many red herrings you'll loathe the smell of fish when you're finished.

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Well, I unintentionally think I've created probably the hardest puzzle cache to solve on this island, so far. Of course I'm considering any future work by The Muggle Family, but until then I may beat his record of number of days without a find.

The funniest thing is that this one was really easy to create. Everytime I've created a puzzle cache, I've tried to theme the cache around a different subject.

For example, the Space Pigs series was based upon the Pigpen cipher that added another new layer with each new cache in the series. The Star Wars cache series was based on Star Wars trivia. The Logical Way was themed off of puzzles that the company Conceptis produces. They created a custom one that was the first stage of that.

Avatar seemingly appears to be based on the movie. Yes, that is the on-the-surface theme, but is also the start of the actual theme of the puzzle, obfuscation.

I won't divulge any more information though at this time as I know there are several cachers who have teamed up to try and crack this one, and I'm sure they are keeping a close eye on anything that I may post anywhere.

Be it as it may, Deciding to post anymore hints may prove useless. However, I'll keep doing so in the hopes that Avatar will be found before my birthday next month.

Friday, April 23, 2010

The month of April has been spent putting into reality an idea that I've had for awhile. Wanting to do a Mario themed cache, I set out to gather the materials I would need to make this cache. After several weeks of planning, construction, and finally placement, Super Mario went live this week.

I also put out 2 more letterboxes. With M&L+3 archiving the caches he had at Expo Park, this opened the park up for opportunity. So with carving tool in hand, I took 2 erasers and made stamps for a letterbox themed off of the Churaumi aquarium and another themed off of the tropical dream center. So far these letterboxes have not been FTF'd. Probably due in part to their distance from most cachers. Hopefully someone will get up there this weekend to log their finds on these letterboxes.

And as if that wasn't enough, I also hid one more. Erno's Magic was hidden just a few days ago and hasn't been FTF'd yet. It's a puzzle cache, but you won't find out what the puzzle is until you arrive at the posted coordinates. This is an idea I found online, and seeing that one didn't exist on Okinawa, I went ahead and put this one out.

So with 4 more caches hidden this month, does that mean a break? Perhaps, but I have plenty more ideas waiting to be hidden. I just have to find the right places.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Dawgdoc1 managed to put one more out there before getting on the plane to head back to the States. I was amazed that he was able to actually get this one together before he left.

He had told me roughly of this idea awhile back throwing a couple of ideas at me to see what I thought. Loving the idea of a Mission Impossible themed cache, I told him that I wouldn't touch it as it could only be properly executed in true Dawgdoc fashion.

I was amazed. This cache is probably one of his most creative that I have seen to-date. I loved the work that went into it.

You'll appreciate it if you go after this one. Which I recommend that everyone who really enjoys caching on Okinawa do before they leave the island.

I was happy to log an FTF for this one. We'll miss you Doc! Hopefully we'll see you back here in the future!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

As part of the work on The Logical Way, Conceptis, the company who created the puzzle for me, asked that I write an article on the experience of hiding this Geocache for them to publish on their website.

After several weeks of revisions, we finally were able to get the article finalized, and it was published just the other day.

To say the least. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series was one of those ideas that I never really thought I'd pull off the back burner and put into action.

I mean honestly. Who in their right mind would decide to hide 42 containers?

Well, fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) for me, the person who introduced me to Geocaching is almost as crazy as I am. When I told him that I wanted to do a series as a farewell tribute to dawgdoc1, he asked me if I had any ideas.

For some reason this one popped into my head, and hexman1999 and I began to put this plan into action.

But how to execute?

Well, we decided that he would purchase and own 21 geocaches and I would purchase and own the other 21 geocaches, and then these geocaches would lead, through mathematics, to a 43rd geocache called Deep Thought.

Deep Thought was a container given to me by dawgdoc1. I did the same for M&L+3 as a farewell by taking a container I obtained from his Full of Caching event and using it as the last stage in Arrows Point the Way. I wanted to do the same for dawgdoc1.

So with 42 containers, plus the one for Deep Thought, in hand, we set out to a northern area of the island that has remained largely untouched. Well, not in the history of geocaching on Okinawa. There have been other geocaches at this locale, but at the present there was nothing.

We hid about half of the containers in a day, and then decided to post these. However, the reviewer didn't like the idea as it went against the Groundspeak guideline that one owner not own too many geocaches in a certain location in an attempt to just boost the numbers.

So we had to think. How about multis? We asked the reviewer if we could use the same number of containers, but reduce the number of actual geocaches down to 6 multis, one titled after each book in the series (the last one not having been written by Douglas for you fellow fans out there). He said that would work, so the next week we got out and created the 6 multi-caches that would lead to Deep Thought.

I thought that it might take awhile before someone logged the FTFs on these 6 multis, as each one took us a little over an hour to hide. However, lexie1969 proved me wrong and logged the FTF for the 6th one just yesterday.

But now the math. Will lexie1969 be able to compute the numbers correctly to derive the true coords to Deep Thought, be able to time things right to make it to the location, and actually find his favorite type of container that was used for Deep Thought, or will dawgdoc1 emerge victorious in this tribute to his efforts to promote Geocaching on Okinawa?

Sunday, March 7, 2010

With the exception of the ones located on the Keramas, I adopted the last of DawgDoc's caches this past week.

Last evening our families got together for a very enjoyable evening and we laughed over caching stories, how we each were introduced into caching, and to approach caching in Okinawa. It was amazing how much we saw eye-to-eye on a lot of things, and I received a lot of good advice from him on how to host events as well as some other ideas for hiding cache containers.

We'll miss Doc and his family as they head to the States for a few years. He is an avid supporter of geocaching that really helped boost interest in it here in Okinawa by placing many geocaches across the island, hosting a number of events, and always ensuring that a cache was populated with trackables.

Arrows Show the Way was published on Friday, and on Saturday Bobby_MD was able to log the FTF for it.

While I was hoping that M&L+3 would have an opportunity to go after the FTF, I learned that he is packing out this weekend and has his final inspection for his living quarters (for those of you who have been through this, you understand). Hopefully he'll be able to log a find on this one before he leaves Okinawa.

However, he's not going to far, so hopefully we'll see him caching down here again in the future.

For those seeking this cache just remember, the arrows show the way. In other words, there is an arrow close by a container or you'll have to use arrows to figure out the location of a container.

Friday, February 26, 2010

The logical way would not have been possible without the wonderful support of the staff at Conceptis Ltd.

Conceptis Ltd. has grown to be the number one supplier of logic puzzles to magazine and newspaper publishers world wide, and offers all of their puzzle products for play online. Puzzlers have the option of either solving the puzzle online through an interactive script or printing the puzzle out and solving it on paper.

I have known the president of the company, Dave Green, for 7 years now and over time I have helped out the company by moderating a forum on their website called Puzzling in Japan.

I approached Dave a month ago asking if Conceptis could create a custom picture-forming logic puzzle where the solution would give the coordinates to the first stage of the geocache. Dave suggested using the puzzle type link-a-pix as this would be the best type of puzzle for hiding the solution before the puzzle was solved. I agreed and asked that the puzzle be at a medium-level of difficulty.

The result was superb! I was very pleased with how the puzzle turned out. My heartfelt thanks to Dave and the staff at Conceptis for the creation of this puzzle and for allowing me to use some of their other puzzles in creating the many stages of this geocache.

So for those of you who love logic puzzles and finding a geocache, head on down south close to Naha and start trying to decipher the logical way!

The logical way was successfully published and 3 days later T Muggle logged the FTF. However, this really doesn't detract from the difficulty of this cache. T Muggle is an avid puzzler who eats these things for breakfast.

I've had a couple of messages from other cachers who have started this one. There was some difficulty with the first stage for one cacher, and as a result of his ingenuity I decided to go out and fix the issue that may present itself to other seekers. The issue was when retrieving the container from its hiding spot, one may accidentally knock the container out of reach.

In addition to The Logical Way being published, I also put a traditional cache close by at the only ice skating rink in Okinawa.

I also just had my second multicache published. If you've looked at my profile in detail, you'll notice that I own more than just 2 multicaches. The others I have adopted from other cachers leaving the island soon.

I wasn't planning to put another multicache out, but when organizing my cache container materials the other day, this one just stood out as needing to be done. So with a couple of bisons in hand and a small lock-n-lock, I put together a 3-stage multicache and let the bisons roam free.

Monday, February 15, 2010

It's coming. My most challenging puzzle cache to-date. With T Muggle on island putting out the challenging Professor Hilbert series, I realized it was time to pull this one off the back burner and fire it up.

Will it stand up against Hilbert, not measure up, or take off soaring? The cachers will be the judge. I hope to beat out T Muggle though with the longest period without an FTF after publication. We'll see.

I'll give recognition in my next post once this one has been published to the folks who helped me out by making the custom puzzle for this cache. Let's just say I know some folks in the puzzling community who do this sort of thing for a living.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

It's been an interesting month caching. I attempted to hide a geocache in a very nice park along a walking path. Using a combination of puzzling techniques, the seeker would decode where to start at, then another decoded hint gave the distance to the actual cache in meters as well as the elevation from sea level that the cache was sitting at.

Little did I know that there was a massive amount of tombs nearby, and a few unlucky first seekers encountered some eerie sights as well as a run-in with Johnnie Law. A decision was quickly made that a cache should just not exist here unless you can give exact coordinates to it, something that will be very difficult since the signal bounce from the cliffs is atrocious. As a result, I had created my shortest lived cache titled Lucky Number 8 as it was archived.

Retrieving the container, I went ahead and put it at a location very close to where I live. I came up with a new type of puzzle that is based on other puzzling logic. Connect the Dots was published and T Muggle made quick work of the cache for an FTF. The puzzle has stumped a few veteran cachers on the island, so I'm glad I have placed a challenging puzzle in a kid-friendly location.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

With cacher M&L+3 announcing that they would soon be leaving the island and putting up all of the caches they own in Okinawa up for adoption, I saw this as a rare opportunity to take over ownership for caches that I have found and wished to see stay alive.

With the adoption process complete on several of their caches, I hope that these caches will have many more finds in the future.

On Friday, I had the rare opportunity to meet an Australian cacher who has been caching since 2002. Cacher Biggles Bear and his wife met with my family, hexman1999, and I for dinner in Naha. They came to Japan to travel up to Tokyo to visit with family, but first visited the island of Okinawa to do some caching.

After visiting the island for 3 days, they said the definitely want to come back to find more of the caches on the island.

We had a wonderful time meeting with them and sharing caching stories.